Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 5 › Conversation 005-121

Nixon phone call with Ford on Legislative agenda and Drug control

Thursday, June 17, 1971 · 8:21 PM–8:24 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ford, Gerald R.Conversation005-121 on Tape 5 (tape position 03:41:01–03:44:06)StartThursday, June 17, 1971 at 8:21 PMEndThursday, June 17, 1971 at 8:24 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 005-121 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Representative Gerald R. Ford discuss recent legislative successes, noting the importance of these victories in demonstrating national strength to North Vietnam. The two also address the administration's aggressive stance against drug trafficking and the political controversy surrounding the New York Times' publication of the Pentagon Papers. Nixon instructs Ford to personally thank Congressman F. Edward Hébert for his role in the legislative wins while advising a cautious, hands-off approach regarding the media's handling of the classified documents.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yeah.
Congressman Foister.
Yeah.
There you are.
Hello?
Hi, Mr. President.
Well, the boys did very well today, didn't they?
They sure did.
They came through in great style.
We lost, I think, 21 or 22, and we won by 98 votes, which is a better margin.
and we won on a comparable vote a year ago.
That's really great, Jerry.
That's a marvelous job.
Our guys did real well.
Right, right.
Well, that's really great, and that Senate vote is really very heartening.
Well, it ought to tell the enemy that all this division is superficial rather than real.
Yeah, well, it also shows that the men that lead are not going to just follow polls and all the rest of them.
They're going to stand up, and we're ready to...
you know, to negotiate from strength rather than division.
Well, our guys did a good job, and I think if you had the time, a call to Eddie Hebert would be very appropriate.
Yeah, I see.
If he, you know, led the fight, carried the bill, and without his total cooperation, we would have had trouble.
Yeah, I'll be sure that I'll give him a call.
That was a good presentation this morning, I thought.
Well, I think we got them shook up a little on that.
And now our people should really ride this issue.
We're not in a partisan way, but we can make it our issue.
After all, this is, and mainly just to not let it just be zeroed in on Vietnam.
It's a national issue, and it'll be here long after Vietnam, and we're going to fight the drug traffic.
Well, it'll have a big public response.
And because, as I put it, it's public enemy number one.
Let's just think of it that way and crack it.
That's right.
Right, right.
Now we've just got to win...
hr one and we'll take that up next week and that's next well the uh what do you think of all this hullabaloo about the new york times it's not the goddamnedest thing well uh
I have mixed emotions in some respect.
I just didn't publish.
Yeah, I know, I know.
It really exposes the other side, I understand.
But that's not right.
But as you know, what they did, though, they really are trafficking and stolen goods.
Sure.
And hurting the country.
Boy, I'll tell you, they lost me with that one.
Well, it doesn't do any of their people any good, including Hubert, etc.,
Yeah, Hubert's really crawling, isn't he?
I think we ought to just sit back, other than the legal issue.
Yeah.
We should sit back and... Let them fight?
Let them explain.
Yeah, right.
Okay, Jerry.
All right, thank you, Mr. President.
Okay, good night.

NARA Description

On June 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford talked on the telephone from 8:21 pm to 8:24 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 005-121 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 5-121

Date: June 17, 1971
Time: 8:21 pm - 8:24 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Gerald R. Ford.

     Nixon administration's recent legislative victories
         -Possible effect on North Vietnamese
         -President's possible call to F. Edward Hebert
         -President's bipartisan meeting, June 17, 1971, on drugs and drug traffic
               -Vietnam

     H.R.1

     New York Times and Pentagon Papers
         -Effect
         -Hubert H. Humphrey
         -Administration's response

Also recorded on June 18, 1971

  • 005-118 8:00 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:00 pm.
  • 005-119 8:00 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:00 pm and 8:10 pm.
  • 005-120 8:10 PM · 49 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 8:10 pm to 8:11 pm.
  • 005-122 8:24 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:24 pm.
  • 005-123 8:25 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and F. Edward Hébert talked on the telephone from 8:25 pm to 8:28 pm.
  • 005-124 8:46 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 8:46 pm to 8:48 pm.
  • 005-125 8:48 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:48 pm and 9:28 pm.
  • 005-126 9:28 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:28 pm.

All 18 conversations from June 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 005-121, June 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/005-121 (accessed October 12, 2026).